Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Probably because of its simplicity, and because it brings together family, friends and food. (Those are a few of my favorite things.) This year I have a lot to be grateful. We have a new home, new friends, our family is all healthy, and our business has been extremely blessed. I truly love my clients. I am constantly amazed by their passion, determination, intelligence, and caring hearts. I thank The Lord on a regular basis for all that we have been given.
But, it hasn’t always been this easy to be grateful. We had many Thanksgivings where along with the turkey and pies, I was chewing on a mountain of stress. It seemed like Thanksgiving was the start of the most financially stressful time of the year. As simple as our Christmas gifts were, we still couldn’t really afford them. And people were so busy in December that my sales seemed to go down not up.
Sometimes gratitude comes easily, sometimes it doesn’t. In any case gratitude is ESSENTIAL for keeping your business healthy.
If you haven’t heard of Scarcity Thinking and Abundance Thinking, you are probably new in business, or haven’t yet delved into how your mindset affects performance. Scarcity thinking is coming from a place of “never enough”. There are not enough clients, there is not enough money, there are not enough sales and of course there is never enough time. When we are in scarcity mindset, we are completely focused on lack and survival. This is detrimental to your business because the actions that it takes to survive are very different than the actions that it takes to succeed. Simply put, we make very poor decisions and we pass on, or completely miss the opportunities for growth. This is a very stressful place to be. There is a lot of fear, and doubt. We are also constantly thinking of exit plans while feeling like we have no other option but to continue moving in the same direction.
Abundance is so much more enjoyable. In abundance thinking there is a faith or belief that there is enough that everything will work out. We feel at peace about what we have and see new opportunities to create growth. We are wise stewards of our resources including time, energy and money. When you are in this mode of thinking, you can truly partner with God (or higher power depending on the language you use), to co-create. You will receive higher return for your efforts than when you are in scarcity. I like to say it’s never a 1 to 1 exchange with God. I put forth an ounce of effort and faith and am blessed with abundance. That only works however, when I am in abundant thinking. God does not create in scarcity. Everything you see in nature points to the fact that we live in an abundant universe. You cannot count the blades of grass in the world, the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the beaches. Abundance is a principle of creation. When you are in scarcity mindset it’s like being tuned into the wrong station for creation.
Now let’s go back to gratitude. Gratitude is the door that opens a way out of scarcity. Gratitude is what starts the process from your mind focusing on lack and survival into seeing all that you have. If you have a roof over your head, clothes on your back and food to eat, you are blessed beyond what many of our brothers and sisters around the world can imagine.
I love the United States of America. I have grandfathers who fought for our country and shaped my patriotism. And I am so grateful for the time I spent outside of the United States. We are incredibly wealthy. Even in my poorest times, where I felt desperate and like scarcity was the only reality, I was still living a life of abundance compared to most of the world. This is the PERFECT time of year to start your shift. Take time during this week to quietly journal about all of the blessings you have in your life. And then never stop looking for them. Make gratitude a way of life. Spend less time stressing this week and more time laughing. I am truly grateful for each of you!
